Possibilities
by Luvdarain5
Summary: At an office party, Serena is the Go Getter new boss trying to connect with her quiet employee Darien. Is there more to him beneath the surface? Guaranteed to give you a thrill! REVISED!


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**Possibilities**

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Disclaimer-I Still Don't Own SM. Nope. Nuh Uh. Not Me. **Sigh**

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"Here you are!" Exclaimed a perky female voice, sliding open the door leading to the balcony on the second floor, letting the noise of the party flow outdoors with her before she slid the glass closed behind her. "Wow, you're missing one heck of a party!"

The hunched lone figure she spoke to turned his face her way for a moment, giving her a polite grimace before turning back to the quiet of the night. Guess a Friday night work party wasn't his idea of a good time, she thought to herself.

The shadow before her belonged to one Darien Chiba. A quiet, hardworking individual of indeterminable age who mostly kept to himself. The perky blond studied the dark figure for a moment, trying to decide if she was bothering him, or if she should continue to try talking to him. She took in a deep breath, just for a moment enjoying the chilly night air-not too cold, just enough to be refreshing.

Serena Tsukino was new to the company, and the gentleman before her was one of her employees. She had quickly made friends or garnered respectful professional relationships with her other staff members in the six months since she had joined the company.

Finishing college with honors had promoted the company to offer her a great position, despite her lack of managerial experience, or perhaps due to her obvious enthusiasm and 'go getter' attitude. Serena had been afraid it would be somewhat awkward being 'The Boss' since she was younger than many of her other employees and as a result she worked hard to be friendly and personable with her staff. But Mr. Chiba had always seemed distant.

Hey! She reminded herself, she had not made it this far this quickly by doubting herself or by doing things half-heartedly. She was going to give this her all! Serena wanted to help the poor man open up and make friends! She wanted to strike a balance in their working relationship. She wanted to see him smile!

She had a brief fantasy of him coming into her office one day and saying 'Thanks for all your help Ms. Tsukino, you're the best boss ever!" Well maybe that was a little far fetched…he didn't seem like the kind to get enthusiastic about much, but this was _her_ fantasy, darn it he _would_ be enthusiastic in it!

"Enjoying the night breeze Mr. Chiba?" She asked, hoping for a response, dreading rejection or dismissal.

He cleared his throat and answered so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "Yes Ms. Tsukino, and you?"

Involuntarily, she gave a little shiver, telling herself it was the chill of the night air, and not the gentle sound of his voice that caused it. "Glad to hear it!" Then she paused, realizing she had not answered the second half of his question and feeling rather stupid. "Uh, yes, I am enjoying the cool air also! It gets so hot in there, you know! All those people!" Man, she thought to herself, how was she going to gain his respect if she kept talking like an airhead?

"Parties aren't exactly my thing" He spoke again very softly. This surprised Serena as she hadn't expected him to continue the conversation.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." She said, even though that really wasn't true. She loved parties, talking to people and making new friends, networking. She was an extrovert, no doubt about it! But she wanted to connect with Mr. Chiba, so she tried to empathize. "Sometimes it's hard to know what to say in a crowd. Easy to get nervous and stuff!" She cringed, 'and stuff'? Way to sound intelligent Serena! Ugh!

"It's not that" he murmured, "It's just that everyone wants to know your personal business. What's wrong with keeping your private life private?" He wondered aloud.

Serena nodded at this sage question, she had to agree with that. It was fun to have friends at work but it was difficult to be a boss to people that you hung out with. It was probably better to keep the two separate…maybe she would put some thought into that later.

As her mind was whirling, trying to think of what to say next, she was further surprised to see him slide over to the side of the small balcony to make room for her. She moved closer to him, then unconsciously mirrored his posture, leaning over the railing with her arms folded atop them to provide a little warmth. Their shoulders were almost touching and Serena felt proud, as though he was accepting her.

The two stood quietly side-by-side not talking, but in a comfortable silence. She wondered what he was thinking and what he was really like. She wondered why he was alone, its not like he was a jerk or ugly or anything. Then she chastised herself, she had to start thinking more like an adult and not judging everyone on appearance!

She turned her head slightly to the left so she could get a better look at him. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she took in his black slacks, white shirt and brown blazer-they were average, nothing horrible there…the tie was bland but not offensive…and with those wire rim glasses on, he looked very intellectual. Actually she thought with a little shiver of feminine awareness, with the wind gently blowing his silky black hair in his eyes, he was kind of attractive…kind of…

At that moment he turned his head and their gaze collided, sending an unexpected jolt of electricity through her. The light from inside shone on his profile, giving him a brooding look. She watched wide eyed as he slowly looked down at her outfit making her glad she had worn the springy pink and white suit. The winter chill was still lingering in the air but April was close enough to forgive her wearing it, and now she was pleased she had.

That thought stopped her cold. Wait a minute! Why should she care what he thought of her outfit? _He_ was _her_ employee, and not to mention her total opposite-an introvert to her extroverted ways, plus he was probably too old for her and most importantly, who said he was interested anyway?

Trying to collect her racing thoughts, Serena stared sightlessly down at her neatly manicured pink fingernails, fidgeting with a lock of her blond hair. She had worn it down tonight and the long strands danced in the wind. She shoved the mass of it out of her way to do as it pleased but held onto one curl in an unconscious habit she had of twirling her finger into it.

"Mr. Chiba" She spoke, wanting to lighten the atmosphere, only to be interrupted.

"Darien" He offered softly.

"Ok….Darien" She tried the name on her lips, trying not to think how intimate that sounded. Which was ridiculous since she called most of her employees by their first names. "…I was just wondering" she stalled, wanting to ask but not wanting to intrude…"you don't have to tell me if you don't want to of course" she continued…"but I was curious...Um…how old are you exactly?"

If he was surprised by the inquiry or upset by her question he didn't show it. He paused for a moment as if deliberating whether to answer. Finally he did, in his succinct way. "35"

"Oh! Wow, you don't look that old!" She giggled nervously. Meanwhile her brain was screaming 'Walk away, walk away, go back to the party-get out of the danger zone!'

He shifted so that now their arms were definitely touching. And then turned those amazing eyes on her.

Caught like a bunny trapped by a hunter, she waited anxiously, with that wonderful ticklish sensation in her tummy. She wanted to see what he would do next, what he would say. How could she have worked with this man for six months and not realized that behind the mild mannered façade was an intense, attractive and sexy-yes _sexy_ guy! She had never really taken a good look at him, determined to see him and the rest of her staff as employees, not as people. Now he had her wondering if she had missed out.

She looked into his eyes for a moment, then shyly glanced away. When had their roles switched so that he was the dominant one in this equation?

"So" He began, bringing her attention back to him. "How old are you?" He cocked a brow, talking in a low tone, the same voice he used at work. Somehow this was different.

"Um, I'm 24" She answered, licking her lips. She was loosing it! She needed to pull herself back together and reassert her authority here. Trouble was how was she going to do that? Oh! Suddenly her eyes lit up as an idea popped into her head. "Hey…Darien, may I ask you a question?" This was sure to get them back on familiar _professional _ground. When he slowly nodded she continued, "Does it bother you that you report to someone younger than you?"

She was pleased with her question, she had been curious about it anyway, and she had asked in a friendly enough manner that it wouldn't insult him. Maybe this would help remind them of their working relationship too!

He turned his face away from her to stare out into the night and she began to worry that perhaps this wasn't such a nice question after all. What may have been idle curiously to her might have been a sore spot for him. Now she regretted asking it and tried to think of something to say that would erase her blunder. Before she could speak however he shifted his body, turning to face her, blocking some of the wind and making her feel delicate and feminine as he straightened up to his full height before her.

He looked down at her, and she felt compelled to turn her body also so that she was facing him, looking up helplessly into intense eyes. He raised his eyebrow yet again and his bland face now wore a knowing look, as if he was aware she was trying to 'put him back in his place' and was amused by it.

She waited, nerves dancing, and it must have shown, for he tempered whatever he had been about to say into a calm reply. "No, Ms. Tsukino, I don't mind working for you even though you're younger than me." A pleased smile flitted across her mouth, but stilled as he continued. "Actually, I enjoy working for you. You're knowledgeable and dedicated, and you treat me fairly." She nodded absently, mesmerized by his voice, only half hearing what he was saying.

"Not to mention" He said, reaching up and removing those wire rimmed glasses and pocketing them, "The fact that you're very sweet." He paused, closing his eyes as though debating whether to continue, then opened them and whispered "And so bright-like a star." Serena couldn't speak, breathless at his confession. His voice became a mere thread of sound. "And you're so caring." He sighed deeply, defeated. "You're beautiful, Ms. Tsukino." He husked as he reached out to her, cupping her face in his palms to hold her still while he leaned down to place a soft kiss on her waiting lips.

Serena was enraptured, and surprised herself by leaning up into him, causing Darien to deepen what had been only a brief kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed in complete surrender to the moment. They pressed close to one another, lost in time.

The fact that there was a party on the other side of the glass door didn't matter to her. The fact that she had never looked at him in a remotely romantic light before tonight didn't occur to her. The fact that in the structure of the workplace this would be completely inappropriate didn't stop her. Only the feel of him, the smell, the taste was real, what mattered. She was overwhelmed by his presence, this indomitable man she had mistaken for meek.

All around them in the night, they were surrounded by silence. Even the noise from the party was distant and unobtrusive. Here and now only the two of them existed. In the breeze, the sounds of quickened heartbeats, breathy moans, delighted sighs and deep groans carried up to the stars. Female protests if he strayed too far from her mouth and masculine assurance as he returned time and again to taste her.

Serena's hands roamed everywhere, her fingers sliding over his crisp white shirt to shape the firm chest beneath it. She had thought him lanky but found he was surprisingly solid beneath the suit. While she moved frantically against him, almost desperately, his hands were still, never straying from her face. His thumb would languidly stroke her cheek between kisses, watching her, memorizing the curve of her face, the shape of her brow, of that tempting little mouth. She ran delicate hands up towards his hair, grabbing fistfuls of the black silk to pull his attention from her neck back to her mouth where it belonged.

Eventually they broke apart, desperate for air, eyes shut and foreheads pressed together. Darien slid one arm around her back keeping her close, so that they shared the same breath, his free hand caressing her tangled curls.

Serena's small hands clenched his shirt tightly underneath his jacket, wrinkling the fabric as she tried to make sense of it all. She was afraid to move or speak for fear it would break this spell that shrouded them from the rest of the world.

Taking a fortifying breath, she opened her eyes to look up at him, and her heart stopped. The look of desire, of need on his face affected her as nothing else in her young adult life had. A small cry escaped, one meant to sooth, but it came out high and inarticulate instead. At that he opened his eyes, his powerful emotions softened into an intimate smile. He opened his mouth to speak, when shouting from the party interrupted them.

"Speech! Speech!" The crowded inside clamored for their boss to make a toast, signaling that the party was almost over. Though both Serena and Darien were still unnoticed, they both knew that the evening was winding down and soon they would be discovered or missed.

Sighing heavily, Darien caressed her cheek one more time, then with real regret he stepped back, letting the night air cool their heated faces. He took another step back, trying to create more distance. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses, settling them back onto his nose. Serena shivered, recognizing the face of her remote co-worker, and wondered what happened to her heated lover of minutes ago?

With his face averted, he mumbled "It's time for me to go Ms Tsukino" and reached up to slide open the glass door. Mentally Serena was panicking. How could he leave and act like nothing had happened? So Abruptly? With no word about the kiss, what he was feeling…no mention about whether there was something here they needed to explore.

She felt so empty, so bereft. The erotic mood between them evaporated and now the air felt heavy and final.

At that moment Darien turned back towards her, studying her downcast face and the tear that slowly tracked down her check. He needed to leave before they were discovered together, but if he hesitated he would be lost.

Leaning into her he reached out and cupped her chin once more. This time the movement was tender instead of provocative. He titled her head up so that she was forced to look at him. "See you Monday morning Ms Tsukino" he said warmly, his words a promise.

With that he stepped back into the room, heading for the exit unnoticed. But it wasn't the words or even the tone which lifted her spirits so suddenly. No, it had been his gaze, those incredible eyes that held such promise.

Now she couldn't wait till Monday, to see how they would proceed, what would happen, how they would act. The weekend was going to crawl by! But as Serena stood for a moment thinking over all that happened this night, her face broke into a big smile, then a huge grin. For this 'go getter' who had her whole life structured and completely planned out, life was suddenly _full _of possibilities!

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End


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